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...News You Can Use
 
Volume 2, Issue 8
August/September 2014
 
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Director's Note 
 

Comparing is a tricky business. It's generally a bad idea when it leads to discontentment and unhappiness. But when it leads to goal setting for making improvements and renewed optimism, it can move you forward and help you grow-in your personal life or for your library. The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) recently published its annual library data from 2012. (Yes, this is as fast as national data is generally published!) You can
read the report. It's definitely worth a look. 

 

They've created a handy tool that can be used to compare your library using various criteria. That makes it easy to find similar libraries depending on what you are analyzing or benchmarking. If you'd like to read more about benchmarking in the nonprofit world, this is an older piece but still a good place to start.

Connie

Jessie Garcia to Speak at Trustee Dinner

WCFLS welcomes author and sportscaster Jessie Garcia to the 2014 Celebration Honoring
Trustees and Friends on Wednesday, October 1, 5:30-7:30 p.m. at Tuscan Hall in Waukesha. 

Jessie Garcia brings fans to the sidelines at Lambeau Field, inside the locker room, aboard the Packers bus, and into the host's chair at The Mike McCarthy Show. She will also feature up-close and personal stories about other teams and athletes she has covered, from the Badgers and Brewers to Wisconsin Olympians.

Books will be available for purchase and signing.

Invitations are forthcoming. If you have any questions, please contact Laurie Freund at (262) 896-8083 or ljfreund@wcfls.org. 
Congratulations on Your Retirement Ray McKenna!


WCFLS is Moving in September

The WCFLS office is moving in late September. Our new space is located at 741 N. Grand Avenue Suite 210 in Waukesha. The new location has ample parking in the attached parking garage. WCFLS will send parking tokens to those needing to park for meetings at WCFLS.
Oconomowoc Public Library Names New Director

The Oconomowoc Public Library Board of Trustees named the new library director on August 21. Please help us in congratulating Betsy Bromley! Betsy has been the children's librarian at Oconomowoc Public Library since 2008. Betsy earned her Master of Arts in Library and Information Studies from the University of Wisconsin - Madison. In her in non-library time, she enjoys spending time with family, reading, being outside, cheering on the Brewers and Packers, and treading the boards in community theater. Besty is looking forward to new adventures as the library director of Oconomowoc Public Library. 

Congratulations Betsy! 
New Director in Big Bend 

 
Karla Lang was named Library Director of Big Bend Public Library in July 2014. Karla has a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and worked at Waukesha Memorial Hospital before she was a stay-at-home mom. Karla homeschooled six children kindergarten through 12th grade. She is a grandmother and a new Honda motorcycle owner. She and her husband like to go out and have fun riding. 

As her youngest prepares to go off to college, Karla started looking for part-time work. Karla was hired to work at the Big Bend Public Library as a library staffer before becoming the director this summer. Karla said she wished she had known libraries were so much fun to work in as she would've entered the field sooner! She is a people person so working with patrons day-to-day is very rewarding for Karla. She works 25 hours per week, of which 3-6 are on-desk, which Karla says helps her keep in touch with the patrons.

When Karla was asked what she loved most, she said "The people!" and further added "I love the small library atmosphere." If you've ever wondered, Big Bend Library has 14,000 volumes in 999 square feet. 

On behalf of WCFLS and the member libraries, we welcome Karla Lang as the new director of Big Bend Village Library!
Amazon Gift Card Winner Announced
   
Congratulations to Lisbeth Jacobs of Menomonee Falls Public Library for winning the $25 Amazon gift card from WCFLS. Lisbeth and 139 others entered to win the gift card by signing up for the WCFLS News You Can Use as an individual subscriber. Now you will only receive one email notification, instead of multiple via the listservs. You can also unsubscribe at any time, but we hope you won't.

Staff members can still sign up to receive the WCFLS e-newsletter here
Continuing Education
 
Leadership is Action, Not Position 
Tuesday, September 16. Library staff in Waukesha County are invited to attend. If interested, please talk to your library director or contact Deb Kneser at Waukesha County. 

Promoting Your Library in the Digital Age
Tuesday, September 16 9am-12pm, New Berlin Public Library. Registration & Information.

 

Lead the Revolution: Leading Change by Changing Leaders 
Monday, October 6, 1-4pm, Franklin Public Library. Registration & Information.
Youth Services Corner
Marie Lund, Children's Assistant, Muskego Public Library
 
Summer Survivor Award Announced at the Summer Celebration Wrap-Up Meeting 

Congratulations to Marie Lund of Muskego Public Library for being awarded the 2014 WCFLS Summer Survivor Award. Marie and Muskego Public Library were nominated multiple times for this award. Maria received a "It's not easy being green..." certificate and Kermit trophy to display in her office until next summer. 

 

Teen eCourse
Popular 4-week eCourse Returns! 
Collaborating with Teens to Build Better Library ProgramsFacilitated by Jennifer Vel�squez. Beginning Monday, September 15, 2014. Cost $175. 24 continuing education hours. Check out the WCFLS continuing education grant program to help off-set the cost. 

 

Storytime Evaluation 
Reviews from your customers is important -- really important. Check out this compilation of storytime evaluations put together by a librarian on the ALSC-I listserv. Maybe you will even get some great comments you can use on your facebook page or web site to help promote storytime to others! 

a

 

ABCmouse.com for Libraries  

ABCmouse.com for Libraries is free! ABCmouse.com is an early learning website for children ages 2 through 6+. It covers reading, math, science, art, and music. It is child-safe with no advertising or links to other websites. Unlike the more expensive early literacy computers you don't have to worry about software issues, programs not shutting down and the screen freezing up all the time (PUBYAC Digest Vol. 20, Issue 103). Read more on the School Library Journal's web site  

 

FREE Early Literacy Webinar Opportunities 


Read, Play, Grow
Friday, September 5, 10-11 am. Rachel Payne of the Brooklyn Public Library will describe her library's 
efforts to enhance early literacy by encouraging play with infants and toddlers. Look for some great ideas to apply to your own programs and services!  Read, Play, Grow registration. 

Ready, Set Kindergarten. Friday, September 12, 10-11 am. Rachel Payne from the Brooklyn Public Library will discuss her library's work to support caregivers in developing early literacy skills with their preschoolers, including resources and information about reading, writing, playing, singing, talking, and also math and science.   Ready, Set Kindergarten registration.
CAF� Tips  
How to Use Community
How to Use Community Video 

What is Community? Search by library, children's program, adult program, teen program or family program; or any other keyword. Hint: To see all events in date order, type * in the "search my community for" box. Check out the How to Use Community Video


Call for Community Updates
Summer library programs are wrapping up and school is going back in session. Now is a great time to get your fall programs loaded into Community. Please use and promote this feature of the catalog to your customers. They will love it!  

Marketing Your Library
 
10 Golden Rules To Take Your Library's Twitter Account to the Next Level written by Ned Potter, an Academic Liaison Librarian at the University of York and marketing consultant. He's the author of The Library Marketing Toolkit

Does Your Library Use Library Elf?  
Consider promoting this service with an -- ELF! Kudos to the Ladysmith staff who created this adorable library elf to promote Library Elf! Library Director Hollis Helmeci says the elf doesn't leave the library--but there is probably someone on your staff or among your volunteers or community members who could make something like this for you! (Source: Keeping Up with IFLS Blog). 

Are Press Releases a Thing of the Past?
Nancy Dowd, author of Bite-Sized Marketing, gives you the scoop on revamping your press releases to make an impact in this digital world. 

 

Discovery

 

Recitethis.com
Created with www.recitethis.com  

Looking for amazingly quick graphic design programs that are FREE?

Try www.canva.com & www.recitethis.com. Thanks Ann Lininger, Mukwonago Community Library, for the recommendations!

 

Take a look at www.picmonkey.com to quickly resize, crop or add text to photos. Also, Skitch is a great downloadable program that can be used to easily take screen captures, add text or shapes. Could use this application for creating flyers, class materials, handouts, facebook posts and more. 

In the Spotlight


Town Hall Library Completes Expansion and Renovation Project

The expansion and renovation project in North Lake began in March 2014 and was completed in June 2014. The Town Hall Foundation raised $225,000 to support this project, which was led by Library Director, Cheryl Schoenhaar. The lower level of the library was the project focus; the expanded space was created during the 2009 expansion of the library to allow growth at a later date. This expansion added 1,948 square feet and 1,025 square feet of space was remodeled. 

 

All children's literature is now in one space; previously the children's non-fiction was interfiled among adult non-fiction due to space limitations. The shelving is now more accessible and additional room will make children's programming more comfortable.

 

A new circular assistance desk is the focal point of the lower area, and staff have been hired to provide support. Town Hall Library now has 7.5 FTE which breaks down to 20 staff and four pages. Seventeen staff put in 206 hours over a two day period to shift nearly every collection in the building. The only collection to go untouched was large print. 

 

The library now has a defined space for teens. Young adult literature now has its own space along with a group work space, a cafe-style seating area and a computer bar. 


The new space features three glass murals created by local artists Bob and Mary Krauski. When the LED lighting was added to the glass murals and turned on for the first time, Cheryl said "It was so beautiful I actually cried." She added "It was the icing on the cake." 

 

Cheryl commented that the most rewarding part of this project has been seeing the spaces well received and used. She added "I can't even tell you how good that feels." And for challenges, she is still working on reading blue prints. Her words of advice for anyone taking on a building project is don't be afraid to ask for help with blueprints. 

 

Cheryl and the rest of the staff at Town Hall Library welcome you to visit the library to see the renovation and expansion. 

Calendar
Mark Your Calendar
  
Trustee & Friends Celebration Dinner Featuring Jessie Garcia
October 1, Tuscan Hall Banquet Center, Waukesha
 
Back in Circulation Again, a national conference for circulation managers and staff. October 6-7, Madison. More info
 
Sheboygan Children's Book Festival
October 10-12, Sheboygan More info

Wisconsin Library Association (WLA) Conference 
November 4-7, Kalahari Resort & Convention Center in Wisconsin Dells. More info 
Waukesha County Federated Library System
831 N. Grand Avenue #220
Waukesha, WI 53186

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